ruskey tried a dozen
paint samples on the
original roof sheathing
before finding one that
matched the walls in
different lights. Painting
the cabinets an analogous
color helped the kitchen

(right) recede into the
wall and give center stage
to the cottage’s barn-like
features, including
floorboards, some of
which are 20 inches wide.
hand-hewn timbers,
rough-sawn original roof
sheathing, and a massive
brick fireplace give the
cottage’s main living space
(left and right) an
authenticity that Ruskey
and interior designer
Michelle Holland
complemented with such
finishes and furnishings as
the iron-and-rope
chandelier and pine
shiplap walls.

a small, sunny bedroom with a mechanical room beneath it, a bright
entry hall, a full bath, and an 8-by-30-foot porch facing the view.

Perhaps equally significant is what Ruskey did not do. He did not
touch some of the original features that give the cabin its rural character: the rough-sawn boards and hand-hewn timbers overhead, super-wide plank floorboards secured with antique square nails, and a massive brick chimney and working fireplace. These three elements tie the
building to its site and infuse it with a calming authenticity.

Especially impressive are the 8-by-8-inch timbers, silver-graywith age and bearing the rhythmic marks of the ancient adze. “Who-ever built this cabin probably took the timbers from an old barn andmade these trusses out of them,” Ruskey says. “The trusses aren’tfrom a barn, but the timbers they’re made from probably are.” Theydid pose a building challenge as new materials had to be scribed wherethey met the uneven surface of the beams, such as over the patio doors.

Ruskey replaced a slender fireplace mantel with an 8-by-8-inch
beam, which makes a solid separation between the brick below and
stucco above. A local blacksmith forged hefty wrought-iron brackets,